While you're whipping up some pumpkin treats for your family, how about making some cookies for your dog? These dog cookies use wholesome, pet-friendly ingredients to create a healthy snack for your dog. While these ingredients are fine for most dogs, you should check with your veterinarian if your pooch has some health or dietary restrictions.

You make these like cut-out cookies. You can use a cookie cutter like this one, which is about 3 inches long (7.5cm) or smaller, smooth-edged cutters (avoid sharp cornered treats) You also can use a pizza or pastry wheel to cut into strips in two directions to make little bit-size rectangles.

We poked indentations in some of our biscuits to give them a little pizzazz. We used a very rare and fancy tool - the end of a chopstick! 

These make a great holiday gift for neighbors, teachers with dogs and even pet shelters. If you give them as a gift, be sure to include the ingredient list.

1. Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Line baking sheets with parchment or silicone baking mats.
2. In your stand mixer, combine the pumpkin, peanut butter and egg together until smooth. Stir in the flour all at once and mix on low speed until a soft dough forms. If the mixture is too shaggy and won't come together, add milk one Tablespoon at a time. The dough will be very thick and a little sandy.
3. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to about a 1/4 inch (6mm) thickness. Re-roll the remaining dough and cut out additional shapes. 
4. Transfer to lined baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches (6cm) between biscuits. The dough will puff a little, but won't get when bigger when baking.
5. Bake for 16 to 18 minutes, or until lightly browned on the edges.
6. Remove from oven, letting biscuits cool on the baking trays for about 5 minutes. Transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

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STORAGE
Baked dog cookies will keep for about a week at room temperature in a sealed container; two weeks in your fridge.
You can freeze baked biscuits for 3 months. Don't forget to thaw overnight in the refrigerator before giving them to your pooch.
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FILLING

• 1-pound jar creamy peanut butter (about 2 cups) *
• 2/3 cup margarine *
• about 1-1/2 pounds powdered sugar (3-1/2 to 4 cups)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

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COATING

• 12 ounces semi-sweet chocolate or chips
•  1-2 ounces paraffin (1-inch square) optional*
• box of square toothpicks for dipping

* INGREDIENT HINTS:

• ​Low-fat margarine and butter don't work well in this recipe, as they make the balls too soft at room temperature. You can use non-hydrogenated shelf-stable versions of PB and margarine or butter if you prefer, but do not use all-natural. It's too loose a mixture - and this is a candy, after all!
• If you don't have paraffin, you can omit it. The wax just makes the chocolate coating a little more finger friendly!

These no-bake treats are perfect for after-school snacks, post workout pick-me-ups, or team snacks. They're loaded with healthy ingredients and delicious to boot. Just don't eat too many - they pack around 125 calories each.

We made ours in a stand mixer (naturally), which allows you to easily combine tough-to-mix ingredients and double your recipe without wearing out your mixing elbow. The entire measuring and mixing process took less than 10 minutes. After a 30 minute cooling period, the balls came together in about 5 minutes.

Pictured are our selected combinations, based on what we had on hand. Almond butter-chia-almond-golden-raisin; almond butter-chia-coconut-mini chocolate chip; and almond butter-cranberry-white chocolate.

You can substitute your favorites and develop your own combinations using whichever ingredients you find in your pantry. These are gluten-free if you used an oat brand certified as such (Bob's Red Mill makes one) and can also be nut-free with a butter substitution.
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• 3/4 cup rolled, old-fashioned oats
• 1/2-3/4  cup quick oats
• 2 tablespoons “healthy mix-ins” (chia seeds, ground flax seeds or hemp seeds) or additional rolled oats
• 1/2 cup nut butter of choice (we used almond butter)
• 1/3 cup sticky liquid sweetener of choice (honey or maple syrup)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• rounded 1/2 cup mix-ins (see below for some options)

SUGGESTED RECIPE COMBINATIONS

• Any nut butter, honey, 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• Peanut butter, honey, 3 tablespoons chocolate chips, 3 tablespoons chopped peanuts, 2 tablespoons raisins

• Almond or cashew butter, honey, 1/4 cup dried cranberries, 1/4 cup white chocolate chips

• Replace 1/2 cup of the oatmeal with 1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes, almond butter, any sweetener, 1/4 cup chocolate chips, 1/4 cup chopped almonds

• Any nut butter, any sweetener, 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips, ADD 2 tablespoons cocoa powder

• Almond or cashew butter, maple syrup, 1/2 cup raisins, ADD 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

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Baby, it's HOT outside. So who wants to spend a bunch of time in the kitchen?

This time of year, we often rely on easy-prep, lighter meals to feed ourselves and our crews. One step-saving technique you may not have tried is to shred cooked chicken breast in your mixer.

It's super quick and you can use the shredded chicken in salads,  tacos, soup, barbecue, casseroles - whatever sounds good. It's great for a party, as you can shred a big pile of chicken in about a minute.

Not that you really need them....

1. ​Bake, grill or even slow-cook some chicken seasoned with salt, pepper, onion and garlic powder. Avoid seasoning with flavors that will compete with your planned uses.
2. Toss it into your mixer (use your SideSwipe :))
3. Turn on slow speed and mix until desired level of shreddedness (We know, it's not a word) is achieved.

Note: Some chunks will be smaller. We like to use those in a mayo-based chicken salad, pictured above. 

Refined Chicken Salad
Add to taste: shredded carrot, diced colored peppers, minced scallions and fresh dill. This simple recipe is great on its own or on a lovely croissant or fresh french bread rounds. Ours has the texture of tuna salad but is loaded with flavor and color. It never fails that people ask for the recipe!